Dr. Zhang Promotes Fertility Preservation Awareness in the New Year
It’s the New Year and Dr. Zhang wants to make you aware of your fertility preservation options made possible by our Division of Fertility Preservation. Why does this matter? Freeze now and preserve your fertility for the future! This is the news: Our Founder and Medical Director – Dr. John Zhang – made worldwide news when he traveled to China and operated in tandem with Dr. Sherman Silber to achieve the first successful frozen ovarian tissue transplant. The best part: Because Dr. Zhang once again pushed the boundaries of modern medicine in the field of fertility preservation, the operation was successful and the woman’s fertility was restored. Bottom Line: If you want to postpone parenthood, you must locate a fertility preservation clinic having earned a world renowned reputation as a pioneer in the field of fertility preservation.
Division of Fertility Preservation
Our Division of Fertility Preservation provides all-encompassing cryopreservation technology.
- Egg Freezing – Oocyte Cryopreservation
- Embryo Freezing and the Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) process
- Ovarian Tissue Freezing
- Sperm Freezing
Maternal Aging and a Woman’s Quality of Eggs
The natural aging process has a dramatic effect on the quality of a woman’s eggs. A woman in her prime reproductive years (early 20s and early 30s) has the option of freezing her eggs to preserve her future fertility into her advanced reproductive years (mid-30s and early 40s + Beyond):
- Today’s modern women who are focused on their education and career opportunities
- Women whose circumstances in life are not presently conducive to rearing children
- Women who have not be able to find their life partner
- Women who are facing cancer treatment – chemo or radiation – that could damage the quality of their eggs and/or destroy their ovarian function by sending them into premature menopause
- Women who are undergoing IVF and are likely to produce excessive eggs, but have ethical or religious concerns over freezing embryos
Egg Freezing Process
Egg freezing is accomplished through a fresh IVF cycle, stopping short of egg fertilization in vitro.
- Stimulation of a woman’s ovaries using fertility drugs to produce several egg follicles during one fresh IVF cycle
- Harvesting eggs from the woman’s ovaries through surgical retrieval
- Preparation and freezing of the eggs for preservation through a process known as vitrification
- The rapid-freezing technique of vitrification makes it possible to freeze eggs quickly so that damaging ice crystals do not form between cells
Vitrification – Flash Freezing Method
Dr. John Zhang was one of the first doctors in the United States to implement vitrification as a method of cryopreservation. The Doctor was one of the first doctors in New York to facilitate a live birth using a frozen egg.
Vitrification is a flash-freezing method preventing the formation of ice crystals between the cells forming an egg. Ice crystals can damage an egg’s cells.
Future Pregnancy
When a woman is ready to start building her family at some point in time in the future, the egg freezing process continues.
- Eggs are thawed and fertilized in vitro by injecting a single sperm cell into a single egg – Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- The resulting embryos are cultured in vitro for up to 5 days (blastocyst stage)
- A predetermined number of quality embryos are transferred into the woman’s uterus for implantation into the uterine lining to achieve pregnancy
Because every patient’s personal, medical, and financial needs are different, we offer customized IVF treatment.
Our experience designing customized IVF protocols provide a variety of successful treatment protocols for you to choose from. We offer the highest quality care timed precisely around your body’s optimal state of performance. A multidisciplinary fertility team effort provides the most evidence-based practice leading to higher pregnancy success rates.
Embryo Cryopreservation and Future FET Procedures
Embryo cryopreservation is commonly used to preserve a couple’s future fertility through IVF and FET technology. A couple can increase their chances of conceiving a biologically-related child when they are ready to build their family.
- A woman’s ovaries are stimulated with fertility medications to produce multiple egg follicles
- Her eggs are surgically retrieved
- The eggs are fertilized in vitro with sperm (ICSI)
- Resulting embryos are monitored for development in vitro up to 5 days
- High quality embryos are selected and cryopreserved using vitrification method
- When thawed, embryos are transferred to the woman’s uterus
Fertility Preservation Expertise
It is important to work with a fertility doctor having the clinical expertise required to design a customized IVF treatment plan meeting your personal and medical needs. To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center – call 917.525.5496
